Senate Education subcommittee advances suite of bills on student housing, campus safety, school meals and teacher pay

The Senate Education subcommittee met in a long hearing that produced a series of committee actions on bills affecting students from kindergarten through university. Lawmakers heard extended testimony on housing-insecure students, teacher pay, campus medical-amnesty protections, and new limits on school meals formulated with so-called ultra-processed foods. Several bills were approved to move to other policy committees, some after substantive amendments and at least one after lengthy debate.

Supporters and opponents sparred over policy trade-offs throughout the five-hour-plus hearing. Proponents framed several bills as stopgap measures to protect vulnerable students — for example, allowing certain community colleges to create safe overnight parking programs and protecting students who receive medical aid during overdose emergencies from immediate academic discipline. Opponents, including district and campus administrators, raised concerns about unfunded mandates, safety and sanitation, and the need for minimal training and quality controls when expanding substitute-teacher access.

Key outcomes - AB 88 (military dependents): Passed unanimously in committee and will go to the Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. Supporters said the bill would let dependents of active-duty California service members who are temporarily posted out of state keep eligibility for state college aid programs. Reeb Government Relations testified for veterans groups in support.

- AB 90 (safe parking at community colleges): Passed as amended to Senate Judiciary (committee vote recorded in the hearing: 5–2). Proponents called the bill a last-resort safety measure for students living in vehicles while they wait for housing; community college CEOs and administrators argued it would be an unfunded mandate and…